Several designs have been used in the past to connect a terminal pin to a terminal block for an electrical connector. These designs include a star design that has a plurality of outwardly extending ribs on the body of the terminal pin. The ribs engage the sides of a socket in the terminal block to hold the terminal pin in place. The position of a terminal pin having a star shaped retention feature in the terminal block is difficult to control within a close tolerance.
Another design is a blade type. The blade type includes a flat section extending outward of the pin shaft. The sides of the flat section extend outwardly in opposite directions and engage the sides of the socket formed in the terminal block.
Although such retention features have worked in the past, they suffer a disadvantage in that they are sometimes inadequate for assembly and retention. Further such designs have limitations in the amount of retention force that can be generated as increasing the size of the star or blade type results in deformation of the socket located in the terminal block.